Washington Halts Military Aid to Ukraine

On Tuesday, the White House and Pentagon confirmed that the administration of President Donald Trump has halted part of military aid to Ukraine following a review of U.S. own stockpiles.

“This decision was made to put America’s interests first following a review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said.

The move came amid concerns about U.S. military stockpiles falling too low. Last month U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo ordering a review of the U.S. stockpile of munitions, in the aftermath of three years of aid to Ukraine, recent strikes on Yemen’s Houthi group and Iran. The review determined that stocks were too low on some weapons previously pledged.

Elbridge Colby, the Defense Department undersecretary for policy, said the Pentagon will continue “to provide the president with robust options to continue military aid to Ukraine, consistent with his goal of bringing this tragic war to an end.”

“At the same time, the department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving U.S. forces’ readiness for Administration defense priorities,” Colby said.

After meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky during the NATO summit at The Hague last week, Trump told reporters that Ukraine is eager to get the Patriot air defense missiles from the U.S.

“They do want to have the anti-missile missiles, OK, as they call them, the Patriots,” Trump said then. “And we’re going to see if we can make some available. We need them, too. We’re supplying them to Israel, and they’re very effective, 100 percent effective. Hard to believe how effective. They do want that more than any other thing,” he said.

Some analysts suggest it is a signal that the Trump administration may further reduce aid to Ukraine. Hegseth skipped a meeting last month of an international group to coordinate military aid to Ukraine. It is the first time the U.S. defense secretary was not in attendance.

The United States has provided Ukraine with more than US$66 billion worth of weapons and military assistance since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022, according to an AP report.